One
of the most controversial issues with the internet is whether or not the
internet should be in schools.

There are two sides to this question. The internet itself is controversial
in the fact that many people say we do not need it. But many schools feel
differently. On one hand, many professionals are stating that the internet
gives students a broad range of information, communication, and ability
to be prepared for the future, while others are claiming that it will take
away from their traditional learning and make them rely on computers more
than their brains. If it is used correctly, then there is no splitting
it into only one or the other, it can be used in conjunction with old fashion
ways of doing things. You still need the very basics, i.e. multiplication
tables, addition and subtraction facts.

Schools have found that children are able to master the basic skills
in 30% less time by using the computer to pace themselves and review as
much as needed. Despite the importance of technology, America is still
behind in getting schools up to date in using and teaching the technology.
Our President is not just wanting to put money into the situation, he is
promoting the cooperation of schools, local government, federal government
and corporations in bringing schools up to the standards that are needed
today.

PRESIDENT
CLINTON'S GOALS 2000:
GETTING SCHOOLS CONNECTED

President
Clinton has been pushing to get all schools wired by the turn of the century.
As he had stated during his debates
during the election, "And, most important, let's make education
our highest priority so that every eight-year-old will be able to read,
every 12-year-old can log on to the Internet, every 18-year-old can go
to college." As has been shown, the world will be a much more technological
society and to keep up, we need to teach the students of today how to access
the internet and use it as a resource or they will not be prepared for
the future.

A recent study done for the U.S.
Department of Education, entitled Advanced Telecommunications in
U.S. Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fall 1996 has shown some
interesting facts regarding the access to the internet at schools:

Currently 75% of U.S. public schools had access to the internet
by around the fall of 1996

61% of all public elementary schools and 77% of secondary schools
have access.

More urban/suburban schools than rural locales had access.

Public schools with high levels of students in poverty were less
likely to be connected to the internet.

Of the 75% of schools that have internet access, only 74% of that is
made available to the students.

By the year 2000, as part of the GOALS
2000 Governmental Plan, around 95% of schools are hoping to be connected
to the internet. As has been stated as part of the President Clinton's
Call to Action
for American Education in the 21st Century, the technology literacy
of today, computer skills and using other technology, is a basic skill,
no longer a luxury, that students must learn.

"Preparing our children for a lifetime of computer use is now
just as essential as teaching them to read and write and do math. Every
major U.S. Industry has begun to rely heavily on computers and telecommunications
to do its work."

The goals the President has outlined are: "(1) Connect every
school and classroom in America to the information superhighway; (2) Provide
access to modern computers for all teachers and students; (3) Develop effective
and engaging software and on-line learning resources as an integral part
of the school curriculum; and (4) Provide all teachers the training and
support they need to help students learn through computers and the information
superhighway." One of the ways he is trying to meet these goals is
to foster the cooperative efforts between schools, government and the private
sector by the use of The Technology Innovation Challenge Grants which matches
each federal dollar by about three dollars from local and private funds.
So far some of the CEO's of the biggest companies in this country and some
of the smallest in local areas have rallied and contributed resources and
their energy to meet the four goals of Our President.

What is going to be needed to get the whole country's schools wired,
are volunteers. Without these people giving their time and effort, many
schools would remain unwired.

A major problem with trying to get the internet in schools is funding.
Without the help of local corporations and organizations, who are most
likely to finance or equip local schools, it is almost impossible for some
school districts to afford or even finance the purchase of computers, extra
telephone lines, maintenance and training of teachers. But without proper
training, teachers are not going to be able to guide students through the
often confusing maze of Internet features, menus and files.

One aspect that the President is trying to put into place with the
help of the FCC, are discounts in the amount of $2.25 million to both poor
and rich districts to bring internet access into the schools based on the
percentage of students a district has that are eligible for free lunches.
This is thanks to the Telecommunications
Act of 1996.

It is not just a matter of getting schools connected to the net, it
is also teaching teachers how to use it effectively in the classroom, providing
students with projects that make effective use of the technology and helping
them to learn to use it to their advantage.

TEACHING THE TEACHERS

Part of the problem with getting internet access into the classroom
is getting teachers to actually use it within the class and designing lesson
plans around some internet activities. What has been happening currently
is that the classes are being wired but the teachers are either not comfortable
with computers or just do not know how to effectively use the internet
in their classes.

Even the government is pushing for teachers to become technologically
prepared to use computers in their teachings. As Secretary Riley brought
out in his remarks in the National
Forum: Attracting and Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century (April
17, 1997), with today's classrooms being more crowded than ever, our teachers
need to be prepared. They need to be skilled in using technology, i.e.
computers, in their teachings and we are finding that there needs to be
more teachers "well-versed in teaching English as a second language."
We need a new model for the 21st century, one that incorporates technology,
including the internet. The internet not only helps students, but
give teachers a way to talk to teachers in other parts of the country and
world.

The main thing the authors of Educators
on the Net: How Teachers Learn, What Teachers Value" is that
to teach teachers - you must let them have hands-on experience. It helps
the teachers get over any fear of the computer. Once that happens, they
realize that they can handle the internet, e-mail and listservs. By also
gearing all assignments to what can be used in the classroom and not just
plain busybody assignments, they are more motivated to learn to use the
computer and to "play on the computer" thereby practicing their
new skills and becoming proficient in its use.

"Teachers not only need a general knowledge of computers and
computer networks, but also need to learn to use email, gopher servers,
the file transfer protocol (ftp), and the World Wide Web. If they wish
to publish materials on the Web, they need a rudimentary knowledge of standard
hypertext markup language (HTML). Teachers also need a sense of the structure
of the Internet, of what constitutes acceptable use, and of how other teachers
have used it."

Many teachers have said that the internet is the first real set of
resources to significantly expand the textbook and library. In Bellwether
or Bust? Educators Debate the Value of Surfing, Neil MacFarquhar wrote

"Skeptics think educators need to spend more time weighing the
arguments made by huge computer and publishing corporations that making
learning more exciting is an improvement. The skeptics say they believe
that a decade of computer use in schools has not resulted in any marked
improvement in children's learning basic skills. Instead, they say, the
Internet will promote a cut-and-paste style of learning, with students
parroting trivial bites of information found on the computer screen instead
of developing the critical judgment and analysis engendered by culling
through books."

STUDENTS
USING THE NET

One of the reasons that students and teachers like the Web is that
they have a wealth of information at their hands without having to pay
for it by the minute as with some other on-line databases. "Cyberspace
creates options for collaboration as well as for communication." As
Jiri Weiss wrote in
The Wiring of Our Children,

"...teachers and students are streaming online to research term
papers, download software, communicate with scientist and explorers, and
to collaborate with classrooms around the world....And textbook and CD-ROM
publishers are beginning to publish materials online. A few universities
are even reaching out to teach advanced courses to high-schoolers via the
Net."

As Ann Johnson
wrote in her article The Internet Pyramid for Elementary Students,
"the internet is also invaluable for 'visiting the world.' You can't
go to Sea World and
find out the latest news on Shamu, the Killer Whale, using most books?
Books are wonderful, but in today's world we need to teach students a variety
of ways to access information in the classroom." But it is not the
only thing that should be used in research; books, computers, filmstrips,
tape players, and much more can be used.

Many teachers are having their students study various areas of science
using the Internet, for example Aeronautics using NASA's
project for schools.

A recent study has found that students who use on-line materials
in some settings may perform better than those who are not plugged into
the Internet. Mendes, Study Shows Value of Wired Classroom.

Citations:
MacFarquhar, Neil; Bellwether or Bust? Educators Debate Value of Surfing,
The New York Times, March 7, 1997
Mendels, Pamela; FCC Moves to Ensure Net Access for Schools,
The New York Times, November 13, 1996
Mendels, Pamela; Study Shows Value of Wired Classroom, The
New York Times, October 26, 1996

Done by Bonni for a Rutgers University Class on
Policy and Politics on the WWW